Are Hotwire and Priceline worth using?
Priceline.com and hotwire.com are like outlet stores for online travel shoppers: They sell flights, rental cars and hotel rooms at a discount, but there’s always a tradeoff. With flights, you must agree to fly on any major airline at any time (except overnight) on the date you choose. With hotels, you pick the neighborhood (such as Midtown East in New York) and the star ranking (three stars, for example). Neither site allows you to change your reservation, and usually no refunds are granted. Make sure your plans are firm before booking at these sites. Unless you don’t mind flying any time during the day, you’ll probably find these sites more valuable for booking hotels, vacation packages and rental cars than for booking flights. Priceline and Hotwire have lots of rooms at relatively low prices, and rental cars in major cities for as little as $20 per day, plus fees. How do I know what to bid at Priceline? When you bid on a hotel, Priceline offers bidding guidance – but be aware that Pr
